UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Iowa Hawkeye volleyball landed the first punch against No. 16 Penn State Saturday night, but the nationally ranked Nittany Lions responded by taking the next three sets and handing Iowa a four-set Big Ten road loss.
Iowa grabbed the opener 25-22 before Penn State answered with victories of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-19 inside Rec Hall.
The Hawkeyes slipped to 12-6 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play.
The defeat came two days after Iowa battled Maryland through five sets before falling in College Park, giving the Hawkeyes back-to-back conference losses after their first Big Ten victory of the season against Rutgers.
Hawkeyes grab the opening set
Iowa showed immediately that it was not intimidated by its ranked opponent.
Hannah Whittingstall opened the scoring with a kill, while Liv Mogridge and Rosa Vesty combined for a block that tied the opening set at 4-4.
The Hawkeyes began creating separation midway through the frame and stretched their advantage to 18-15.
Carmel Vares later delivered a kill to put Iowa ahead 20-16.
Penn State refused to go quietly and closed within 22-21 following a 3-0 run, but Mogridge stopped the surge with a middle attack. Ksenija Tomic followed with a kill before a Penn State error finished off Iowa’s 25-22 victory.
The Hawkeyes hit .278 in the opening set and committed only one unforced error.
Penn State wrestles away momentum
The complexion of the match changed quickly in the second set.
Penn State jumped ahead 5-1 and never surrendered the lead.
Back-to-back Iowa blocks trimmed the deficit to 8-5, but the Nittany Lions rebuilt their advantage and carried a 15-10 lead into the technical timeout.
Iowa managed only seven kills in the set as Penn State rolled to a 25-17 victory and evened the match.
Iowa threatens before Nittany Lions pull away
The third set was far tighter.
Whittingstall and Vares kept Iowa even early, while Tomic tied the frame at 6-6.
Mogridge contributed a kill and multiple blocks as Iowa stayed within striking distance, and Vares tied the score again with a kill.
Penn State eventually broke loose with a 4-0 run that produced a 15-11 advantage.
The Hawkeyes continued fighting and cut a late 20-16 deficit to 21-19. Iowa then fought off two set points while trailing 24-20, but a service error ended the comeback and gave Penn State a 25-22 win.
Fourth-set rally falls short
Iowa again refused to disappear in the fourth.
Henlee Moszkowicz tied the set at 4-4 with an ace and Whittingstall made it 5-5 with a kill.
Penn State responded with a 6-1 surge, but Iowa capitalized on three Nittany Lion errors and another Vares kill to battle all the way back to an 11-11 tie.
Penn State immediately regained control with a 4-1 run.
Vesty pulled Iowa within 17-14, and Whittingstall later helped trim the deficit to 20-16, but the Hawkeyes could not erase the gap.
Penn State closed out the set 25-19 and secured the match.
Vares leads Iowa attack
Vares earned her first opportunity to lead Iowa offensively this season and finished with a team-high nine kills on 26 attacks.
Tomic returned after missing the Maryland match and recorded eight kills. Whittingstall also finished with eight.
Vesty delivered Iowa’s most efficient offensive performance, hitting .556 with six kills on nine swings and only one error.
Setter Jenna Meitzler handed out 30 assists.
Moszkowicz and Jaimie Marquardt led Iowa defensively with nine digs apiece.
Both teams finished with eight blocks.
Serving proved adventurous on both sides of the net. Penn State committed 17 service errors compared with seven for Iowa, while the Nittany Lions held a 7-4 advantage in aces.
The loss also dropped Iowa to 9-3 this season when winning the opening set.
Saturday marked Iowa’s first match against a ranked opponent this season.
Michigan next for Hawkeyes
Iowa will continue its Big Ten road swing Friday when the Hawkeyes travel to Michigan.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central inside Crisler Center.
Iowa will enter the match at 12-6 overall and looking to improve on its 1-3 Big Ten record.
I’d use that headline over the university’s generic “drop road contest” wording—it makes the ranked opponent and the match’s turning point immediately clear.